Cap having a self-adjusting sweat band



Jan. 1, 1957 J. w. HENS CHEL CAP HAVING A SELF-ADJUSTING SWEAT BAND Filed July 12, 1954 FIG. 2.

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JOSEPH W. HENSCHEL llnited States Patent CAP HAVING A SELF-ADJUSTING SWEAT BAND Joseph W. Henschel, University City, Mo. Application July 12, 1954, Serial No. 442,730

4 Claims. (Cl. 2-197) This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in headwear and, more particularly, to a cap having a self-adjusting head band.

Ordinarily, hats, caps, and similar items of headwear must be made in a substantial range of sizes in order to lit the various head sizes of the customers purchasing such articles of apparel. This, of course, creates inventory problems for both the manufacturer and the retail merchant, which become quite burdensome in relation to sport caps and similar low-priced headwear of the casual type.

Many expedients have been employed to provide hats and caps having adjustable head size, but these expedients usually involve the use of snap fasteners, buttons, or hook-and-eye arrangements having a plurality of duplicate fastening elements disposed in a spaced series and conforming to conventional or standard head sizes. These arrangements are somewhat expensive in the sense that a multiplicity of unused fastener elements must be supplied in each hat or cap even though only one particular fastener will ultimately be used by the purchaser. Devices of this type, furthermore, are bulky, inefficient, and necessitate considerable manipulation upon the part of the sales person in fitting the hat or cap to the customers head, thereby necessarily consuming the sales persons time and consequently adding to the cost of handling such merchandise. Finally, such expedients do not afford a precisely fitting, comfortable type of adjustable hat or cap.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a sport cap or similar article of headwear having a self-adjusting head band construction which will automatically accommodate any and all head sizes within a relatively broad range.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cap of the type stated which is simple in construction and economical in cost of manufacture.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a cap of the type stated which will fit various head sizes smoothly and comfortably without wrinkling, puckering, or otherwise producing an unsightly appearance.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing (one sheet) Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cap constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the p;

Figures 3, 4, and are fragmentary sectional views taken along lines 3-3, 44, and 5-5, respectively, of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the interior portion of the cap with the sweat band folded out into flatwise relation to show the interior construcice tion thereof with the adjusting mechanism in disassembled position; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 3 with the adjusting mechanism in partially extending position as it would be in ordinary use.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing, which illustrates a practical embodiment of the present invention, A designates a sport cap having a crown 1 and forwardly extending bill or visor 2. The crown 1 consists of a circular or oval top panel or wall 3 marginally stitched around its periphery to an annular side wall 4 forming a cylindrical crown. The side wall 4 is brought around to the rear and overlapped, as shown at x in Figure 6. The overlapping rear ends of the crown or side wall 4 are cut off and hemmed under along diverging oblique lines and are completely separate from each other, as shown in Figures 2 and 6, in the provision of overlapping flap-portions f, f. The crown or side wall 4 is, furthermore, turned up along its lower head-encircling margin for stitched securement to a narrow band of buckram 5 and a sweat band 6 formed of a two-ply, fabric-plastic laminate, or any other suitable material commonly used in making the sweat bands for hats and caps. The flap f is, furthermore, telescoped between the inner face of the flap f and its associated upturned end portion of the sweat band 6, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Extending through the buckram band 5 and sweat band 6 in the region of the flap 1, are spaced eyelets 7, 8. As will be seen by reference to Figure 2, the eyelet 7 is located close to the lower margin of the buckram band 5 and sweat band 6 and the eyelet 8 is located near the upper edge thereof, so that a line extending between the centers of the two eyelets 7, 8, is oblique to the longitudinal margins of the buckram band 5 and sweat band 6. Similarly mounted in and extending through the buckram band 5 and sweat band 6 in the region of the flap f are spaced eyelets 9, 10, also located along an oblique line, so that when the flaps f, f are fully overlapped, the eyelet 9 will be in registration with the eyelet 7 and the eyelet 10 will be in registration with the eyelet 8, substantially as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The transverse ends of the buckram band 5 and sweat band 6 are turned back and stitched or otherwise secured in any conventional manner as a part of the transverse hems of the flaps f, 1.

Threaded through the registering pairs of eyelets 7, 9, and 8, 10, is an elastic cord or similar means 11 tied together or otherwise suitably secured at its ends to form an endless elastic band of such size as will normally hold the flaps f, f, in the fully overlapped position shown in Figure 3. In this position, the cap A will have a smooth, attractive, fully closed appearance, as shown in Figure 1, and in this position the head size will be at a minimum. When the cap A is worn by a person having a head size larger than such minimum, the cap will automatically expand to a position such as that shown in Figure 7 and adjust to the required larger head size. It will, of course, be understood that the position shown in Figure 7 is an intermediate one and that the cap A is capable of expanding until the flaps f, f, are almost out of overlapping relation. As a practical matter, caps embodying the present invention have been made to fit a range of sizes from six and one-half up to seven and three-quarters comfortably and without puckering or unsightly appearance.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the cap having a self-adjusting head band may be made and substituted for those herein shownanddescribed without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to=secure by- Letters- Patent is:

1. A cap comprising a crown including an annular 5 side wall and a topwall; a sweatband stitched to the lower edge of the annularsidewall, said annular side wall havinga split extending fromtheperipheral edge of-the top-wall to .the lower edge of the sidewall and completely through the sweat band, theportions of said side wall adjacent tothe split being in overlapped relation, first and secondeyeletsin-the region of one ofsaid portions and extending through said sweat band, firstand second eyelets in the region of. the other of said portions and extending through said sweatband; the openings of said first eyelets being normally aligned, theopenings of said second eyelets alsobeing normally aligned, saidfirst and second eyelets in the region of each of said portions being spaced alonga line obliquewith respect to the head-encircling margin-oh thesweat band; and elastic meansiextending through said pairs-of eyelets for normally drawing the overlappedaportions: toward'cach. other, andsaidelastic means being further adapted to permit the overlapped portions to shift face wise withirespect to each other to accommodate larger head sizes.

2. A cap comprising a crown including an annular side wall and a top wall, a sweat band stitched to-the loweredge of the annular side wall, said annular. side wall having a split extending fromthe peripheral edge of the top wall to the lower edge of the side wall.and completely. through: the sweat band, the portions of said side walladjacent to the split being oblique and diverging downwardly from the top wall in overlapped relaa. tion so that the overlapped areas. are substantially triangles, first and'second eyelets in the region of one of said portions andextending through said sweat band, first and second eyelets in the region of the other of said portions and extending through said sweat band, the- 40 openings of saidfirst eyelets being normally aligned, theopenings of said second eyelets also being normally aligned, said first and second eyelets on each of said portions being spaced along a line oblique with respect to the head-encircling margin of the sweat band, and an endless elastic member threaded through said pairs of eyeletsextending lengthwise along the sweat'band across. the split andbeingattached at its opposite ends, respectively, to the sweat bandon opposite sides of the split for normally drawing the overlapped portions toward each other, and said elastic memberbeing furtheradapted to permit the overlapped portions to shift facewise with respect to each other to accommodate larger head sizes.

3, A cap comprising a crown including an annular:

sidewall and atop wall, a sweat band stitched to the lower edge of the annular side wall, said annular side wall having a split extending from the peripheral edge of the top wall to the lower edge of the side wall and completely through the sweat band, the portions of said side wall adjacent to the split being in overlapped relation, first and second eyelets inthe region of one of said portions and extending through said sweat band, first and second eyelets in the region of the other of said portions and extending through said sweat band, the openings of said first eyelets being normally aligned, the openings of said second eyelets also being normally aligned, said first and second eyelets in the region of each of said portions being spaced, and elastic means extending through said pairs of eyelets for normally drawing the overlapped portions toward each other and, said elastic means being further adapted to permit the overlapped portions to shift facewise with respect to each other to accommodate larger head'sizes.

4. A cap comprising a crown including an annular side wall and'a top wall; a sweat band stitched to the lower edge ofthe annular side wall; said annular side wall'havinga split extending from the peripheral edge of the top wallto the lower edge of the side wall and completely through the sweat band, the portions ofsaid side walladjacent to the split'being oblique and'diverging downwardly from the top wall in overlapped relation so that the overlapped areas are substantially triangles, first andsecond'eyelets in the region of one of-said portions and extending through said sweat band, first and second'eyclets in the region of the other of said portions and extending through said sweat band, the openings of said first eyelets being normally aligned, the openings of'said second eyelets also being normally aligned, said first andsecond eyelets in the region of each of said portions being spaced, and an endless elastic member threaded through saidpairsof eyelets extending lengthwise along the sweat bandacross the split and being attachedat its opposite endsrespectively to the sweat band'on opposite side of" the splitfor normally drawing the overlapped portions towardeach other, andsaid elastic member being further adapted'to permit the overlapped portions to shift facewise with-respect to each other to accommodate larger head'sizes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 61,491 Davis Apr. 19, 1887 751,480 Drake Feb. 9, 1904 1,727,484 Myers Sept. 10, 1929 1,836,141 Wagenfeld Dec. 15, 1931 2,367,074. Turchin Jan. 9, 1945 2,556,807 Goldman June 12, 1951 

